Archive for October, 2012

I’m going to a Halloween party tonight and I will be dressing up as my most favourite fictional person; Wednesday Addams

I was a little obsessed with her (and Christina Ricci) when I was younger and I pretty much own the same dress already (faux pas?)

So today’s Japanese lesson went really well actually. I nailed the vocab test and then actually understood most of the new grammar notes (causative form?) It’s getting a bit full on now so I must start living in the library again soon.

I’ve got half an hour to kill before my next lecture; Methodology of Foreign Language Teaching (yes, it is as boring as it sounds). It’s not that difficult, but so so loooong. The lecturer is a crazy cat-lady/hippy/extrovert and she repeats everything at least twice, sometimes three times. It kills me. And it’s 3 hours long. THREE HOURS GUYS. I stop concentrating after 20 minutes so you can imagine the joy I go through every Tuesday (I say every Tuesday but I’ve actually missed 4 lessons already… I just couldn’t cope okay!)

Tomorrow if I’m not too hungover I’m going to spend the WHOLE day doing work! I’ve got my first Japanese listening test on Thursday and then on Friday the Japanese exchange students will be visiting our class so that we get a chance to speak to them 🙂 I always get a bit nervous when speaking to actual Japanese people (mainly because my Japanese is excruciatingly terrible) but I want to try my best to at least impress them a little!

I still haven’t decided on a Japanese university but I think I’d like to go to Obirin… it may be a little far-fetched since they only allow 2 people in the year from our university, but a girl can dream right? I need info on Obirin please!

Other than that I hope everyone enjoys Halloween tomorrow. Halloween in Japan must be the funnest time of year.

So this week we had our first Year Abroad Meeting (waaah!) I am so excited about my year in Japan!

JAPAN… of course!

So we have to do a little research on the universities offered to us and then put down out first 3 choices. HELP ME! These are the choices…

Aichi Shukutoku University, Nagoya

Kansai Gaidai University, Osaka

Kitakyushu University

Kyushu Sangyo University

Meiji Gakuin University, Tokyo

Nagoya University of Foreign Studies

Obirin University, Tokyo

There are 3 others but they are for higher levels and I might as well not bother because my Japanese is CRAP!

So I don’t really want to go to Kansai, there are so many foreigners there that I might as well go to Europe or America instead, I feel that Nagoya may seem the same? I think I’d prefer to go to Tokyo so maybe Meiji or Obirin? Though I’m very drawn to Kyushu too.

I have to have my choices made in 3 weeks I think so I better get crackin’.

In other news, I have a listening test next week (boo) followed by another oral exam (double boo). For my oral exam I have to come up with problems I might face in Japan, then the teacher gives me some sort of answer and we have general chit chat.

Example 日本に行って、風をひいたら、どうしたらいいですか。

After that bit (which should last about 6 minutes??!!) we have a general pow wow about other things which we can’t prepare for, eek!

My ass is back into gear! I’ve had a bit of time off but I’m ready to ROLL!!

…maybe not this ready

So I’ll start with how the school year is going. It’s been nearly a month and I’ve learned… nothing! Joke.

Our modules are set out a little differently this year; I no longer have to do Japanese Reading and Writing because I was ahead last year (shwing!) and instead there is an extra module called Japanese Conversation (does what it says on the tin really) as well as the usual grammar lessons. Hopefully by the time I go to Japan next year my language skills will be SUPER AWESOME!

Other than that I am doing a semester of Methodology of Foreign Language Teaching, where we learn about how to teach foreign languages! I’m attending a seminar about the JET programme later today, for those of you who don’t know the JET programme is an exchange and teaching programme between Japan and other countries. It’s quite a big deal and very helpful if you manage to get in, it’s something I might consider when I finish my degree (‘when’ being the key word here!)

We’ve also got quite a few seminars about our year abroad (SO CLOSE NOW!!) which I am super excited about!

And of course I haven’t forgotten about the lovely team at Japan Cinema, occasionally I have to check out the ‘About’ section to make sure Marcello hasn’t gotten rid of me for being such an aweful team member! Now that university is back on my life has more structure and I can write again! And hopefully I will have more readers too!